Chapter 11
Another week crept by, and Suzanna found herself on edge every minute of every day. Since seeing the face in her window, she was now just waiting for something else bad to happen. She had no idea what direction the danger might come from, but she was certain it was coming soon.
If that wasn’t enough, her feelings for Seth were growing to enormous proportions, and more than anything she wanted to tell him that she was in love with him.
But she knew it would only complicate things while she was here, and so she kept her love for him locked tight inside her.
But it was growing more and more difficult to do that.
It was another day of work, a Thursday, and she had a feeling the kids would all be restless today.
The skies were dreary, and there was a scent of snow in the air.
Seth had bought extra groceries, shopping one day while she had been at work.
The forecast was for a snowstorm coming within the next couple of days.
As usual Seth drove her and Sammy to the school. Just as she expected, the kids were all wound up, and it took her time and energy to get them settled down, behaving and working hard at the lessons.
She had come to hate lunchtime with Ray and Boone, who were still giving her the silent treatment.
Today on the menu was pizza, a green salad and apple sauce.
After getting the tray in the kitchen, it was with dread that she headed to the teachers’ lounge.
She could have eaten in her classroom, but she refused to bow to the two men.
Ray and Boone were already seated at the table, and at the moment it was just the three of them.
She knew Vanessa wouldn’t be eating with them today.
She had told Suzanna earlier that she was going home for lunch.
Suzanna placed her tray on the table and then sat down next to Boone.
The silence in the room was positively stifling. She cut into her pizza to take a bite, but before she could get it in her mouth Ray spoke up.
“You and your farmer have gotten quite cozy, haven’t you?” he said snidely. “So, you don’t date, but you move into men’s houses and cuddle up with them. You know, you could have moved into my house.”
She felt the blush that rose up to warm her cheeks. “I’m sorry you two are hurt by my choices. Seth is my protection from somebody who seems to want me dead. Right now, everyone who is in my life is a suspect, except him.”
She drew in a deep breath and decided it was time for her to be perfectly honest, even though it was really none of their business.
She gazed at Ray and then at Boone. “I certainly wasn’t looking for love when I started tutoring Sammy.
I truly believed I would never date again, that my love for my dead husband would forever be in my heart and that would be enough for me for the rest of my life. ”
Breaking her eye contact with Boone, she looked at Ray once again.
“I’ve fallen in love with Seth,” she finally finished.
It felt good to say the words out loud no matter how the two men would react.
“I wasn’t looking for it and I certainly didn’t expect it, but it happened.
” She also felt a little guilty over the fact she was telling these two men about her feelings before she shared them with Seth.
“Suzanna, I just want you to be happy,” Boone said.
“Me, too. But I’m not going to lie, Suzanna. I wish it would have been me,” Ray said softly.
“There’s no real sense when it comes to matters of the heart,” she replied. “Like I said, I certainly wasn’t looking to fall in love again, but something special clicked with Seth.” She raised her chin slightly. “And I’m not going to apologize anymore for anything.”
“You don’t need to apologize anymore,” Boone replied, his gaze soft on her.
“So, are you two ready to forgive me now or what?” she asked.
The two men exchanged glances, and then Ray looked at her once again. “Suzanna, we were just really hurt that you would ever think that one of us could harm you.”
“I never really believed that,” she replied. “But when Dallas asked me for names of who I worked closely with and the men who were in my life, I had to name you two, along with Arlan. But I have missed talking to two of my good friends and coworkers.”
“It was really hard on us not talking to you,” Boone replied. “But it’s all over now, and it’s time to get things back to normal around here.” He offered her one of his nice big smiles.
“I agree,” Ray said, although she was aware of a hardness in the very depths of his eyes.
Thankfully for the rest of the meal the tension in the room dissipated somewhat. But she hadn’t forgotten that Ray and Boone hadn’t had alibis for the night she’d been attacked.
Even though things had gone back to being pleasant, that didn’t mean she completely trusted them. Of the two, it was Ray that still disturbed her the most. There was a darkness in his eyes that she didn’t believe she had ever seen there before.
Lunch passed and she returned to her classroom. They were in the middle of math class when Holly began to whisper to her neighbors.
“Holly, you are doing a lot of chatting right now. Is there something you’d like to share with the class?” Suzanna asked.
Holly stood, completely unembarrassed by being singled out for chattering during lesson time. “I was just telling everyone that Sammy is a teacher’s pet,” she said.
“I am not,” Sammy immediately replied with an indignant upthrust of his chin.
“Yes, you are. My mommy says Mrs. Michaels is sleeping with your daddy,” Holly announced smugly. “And that makes you a teacher’s pet.”
“Mrs. Michaels is not sleeping with my daddy. She has her own room in my house, and my daddy has his own room. I’m not a teacher’s pet ’cause sometimes I don’t even get the necklace,” Sammy replied.
“Enough,” Suzanna said, once again appalled by the information Eva Dayton chose to share with her daughter. Was she trying to get Suzanna fired?
“Let me make one thing very clear to all of you. There are no teacher’s pets in this classroom. I love all of you the same,” Suzanna said, although that wasn’t exactly true. Still, she certainly wasn’t showing any favoritism toward Sammy during school hours.
Besides, there would always be students she connected with more than others. However, she worked hard to make sure she treated all the kids the same.
“Holly, sit down now, and there is no more talking during lesson time,” Suzanna said firmly.
The rest of the school day passed uneventfully, but by the time it was over, she was emotionally exhausted. She had somebody who wanted to kill her and a student’s mother trying to get her fired. And on top of all that was her love for a man who had no interest in having a long-term relationship.
“Good day?” that man asked her as she and Sammy got into the car to head home after school.
“Long day,” she replied.
“Daddy, I got the necklace again today,” Sammy said from the back seat.
“I’m so very proud of you, little man,” Seth replied.
“I’m glad, big man,” Sammy replied. Once again, she was reminded of how much she loved Sammy and Seth’s relationship with each other.
Seth pulled away from the school and then shot her a glance. “What made it a long day?”
“On a good note, Ray and Boone decided they’d punished me with their silent treatment long enough,” she said. “And I’ll tell you later what made it a not-so-great day.”
“Daddy, Holly Dayton called me a teacher’s pet today,” Sammy said, his indignation evident in his tone. “She said Mrs. Michaels was sleeping with you and that made me a teacher’s pet.”
“Well, we both know that all isn’t true,” Seth replied and then shot another glance at her. “And that would be what made it a not-so-great day.”
“Exactly,” she replied with a tired sigh. She could smell Seth’s familiar scent, that of spicy cologne and clean male. She wanted to fall into him and have his arms enfold her and hold her tight.
“Then it’s a good thing the day is over and now you can just relax,” he said.
“Since I got the necklace, I think we should all watch a movie together tonight,” Sammy said. “That’s what I’d like to do. And we can eat popcorn and be happy together.”
“Sounds like a good plan to me,” Seth replied.
“I’d definitely be up for a movie and some popcorn,” she said. It would be a good time to relax and get her thoughts in order for school the next day.
“Since Sammy got the necklace, it’s a grilled cheese and soup night. Right, son?”
“That’s right,” Sammy replied. “That’s my favorite besides chicken nuggets and hot dogs.”
That started a conversation about favorite junky kinds of foods. “Pizza,” Suzanna said. “I love a good pepperoni pizza.”
“Breaded and fried mozzarella sticks,” Seth said.
“Tater tots,” Sammy added.
“Fried mushrooms,” she said.
They all continued to talk about favorite foods until Seth pulled up in the driveway. “Sammy, don’t forget to let Lady out, and I’ll get started on dinner.”
They all left the car and headed into the house. Suzanna went to her room to get into her comfy clothes and then returned to the kitchen, where Seth was heating up a pot of tomato soup. He already had what he needed to make the grilled cheese sandwiches laid out on the counter.
“How about if I set the table?” she offered.
He flashed her a grin. “That would be great.”
She got plates and bowls from the cabinet and then moved on to the silverware. She set everything on the table in the appropriate places and then got out three water glasses and added them.
By that time Sammy came in the back door, laughing as Lady danced around his feet. Sammy unfastened the leash and hung it by the door and then petted Lady behind her ears. “She misses me so much when I’m at school,” he said.
“Of course she misses you, she loves you,” Suzanna replied, also laughing at the puppy’s antics.
“I love her so much.” Sammy dropped to the floor, giggling as Lady bathed his face with doggy kisses.